Crash-and-bash competition is coming to Dorchester as the Canadian wheelchair rugby team brings international murderball to home turf.

The intensity of wheelchair rugby is unlike any other sport, said co-captain David Willsie of Dorchester, who described it as “fast, hard-hitting, energetic.”

The three-day Tri-Nations Cup begins Friday and features games between the national teams of Canada, Great Britain and Denmark.

“It’s always great travelling around the world representing Canada, but one of the coolest things is doing it before the home crowds,” Willsie said.

The game combines elements of rugby, basketball and football on a gym-floor court. Its simple rules — four players per team, both teams trying to carry a white ball across a goal-line — give little clue of the game’s noise, speed and strategy.

It’s a full-contact sport, mixing finesse with jarring collisions as athletes use wheelchairs as tools and weapons while they pick and roll their way up the court.

The game came under the spotlight in the award-winning movie Murderball, a 2005 documentary highlighting the fierce rivalry between the American and Canadian teams as they trained for the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.

Willsie is a main character in the story. He is an accomplished Paralympian and one of the leaders of the Canadian squad, which also includes area players Garett Hickling and Cody Caldwell. The London club team plays out of Dorchester.

At age 45, Willsie goes through a lot more ice, ibuprofen and hot-tub treatments than he once did. “Keeping the intensity isn’t the issue. It’s how much recovery time do I need.”

National team manager Nancy Wong said Dorchester is a natural host to the mini-tournament, partly because that’s also where the London club team plays. The recreation centre also recently installed a wheelchair-accessible workout room.

“We’ve been so welcomed by the community . . . They understand the sport . . . the needs of the athletes,” she said.

Fans will see crashes and playmaking, high speed and high emotion, Wong said.

Admission to the showcase is free and there is always a meet-and-greet and autograph session after the game.

Willsie said he never tires of promoting the sport but its biggest ambassadors are often the fans, who spread word among their friends. “Once you get to see it, you’re hooked.”

--- --- ---

Wheelchair rugby

Athletes have limited use of at least three limbs and play in specially modified wheelchairs

All players assigned a classification ranging from .5 to 3.5 (a measure of their functional physical ability). Each team fields four players at a time and their total classification points on the court may add up to a maximum 8

Players team up to carry a standard volleyball over goal-line in a gym while opposing team tries to stop them.